Professor John Rust

Associate Fellow

Contact information

07876684568

LCFI
16 Mill Lane
Cambridge
CB2 1SB
United Kingdom

Biography

Graduated from London University in psychology, statistics and computer science in 1970, received PhD (Genetic factors in Psychophysiology) in 1974 and MA in Philosophy in 1976. Became Lecturer and Reader in Psychometrics at London until appointment as Professor of Psychometrics at City University, London, in 2002. Founding editor of the journal Philosophical Psychology in 1985. Textbook ‘Modern Psychometrics’ is now in its 4th edition. From the 1990s he worked with the Psychological Corporation to develop tests of intelligence, including the Wechsler and British Ability .

Moved to the University of Cambridge in 2005 and was Director of its Psychometrics Centre until 2019. From 2008 until 2014 the centre published widely on the application of methodology to the analysis of online digital footprints, both reporting benefits and warning of risks. Associate Fellow of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence since 2019

Research interests

The interface between machine learning (AI) and psychometrics, particularly in regard to how machines learn human psychology and how this can be practically applied in HR, forensics, persuasion and big data environments more generally.The development of an emerging new branch of psychology fit for the digital age, one in which researchers can interrogate interactions not only between humans but between humans and bots, algorithms or other agents that exhibit unique but often covert moral and social characteristics of their own.

Publications

Rust, J., Kosinski, M., and Stillwell, D. (2020) Modern Psychometrics: The Science of Psychological Assessment (4th Edition), Routledge, London.

About us

The Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery (C2D3) brings together researchers and expertise from across the academic departments and industry to drive research into the analysis, understanding and use of data science and AI. C2D3 is an Interdisciplinary Research Centre at the University of Cambridge.

  • Supports and connects the growing data science and AI research community 
  • Builds research capacity in data science and AI to tackle complex issues 
  • Drives new research challenges through collaborative research projects 
  • Promotes and provides opportunities for knowledge transfer 
  • Identifies and provides training courses for students, academics, industry and the third sector 
  • Serves as a gateway for external organisations 

Join us